6 figures to financial success

To get your credit utilization percentage, divide the sum of all your credit card account balances by the sum of all your credit card limits. If it's higher than 10 percent, you have three options, according to John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at credit.com. "You can apply for additional credit cards and increase your credit limit, you can lower your credit card debt, or a combination of the two," he says. Credit utilization is one of the factors that influences your credit score, so "keep that number as low as you possibly can," Ulzheimer says. Consumers with credit scores of 760 and above have an average utilization of about 7 percent.

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